A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing medical information from an electronic medical device for transmission and receipt over a network. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for processing medical information via a serial bus from an electronic medical device at a remote patient site for transmission and receipt over a network to a remote diagnostic site or a medical processing center.
B. Description of the Related Art
The advance of medical technology has now made feasible the analysis and potential diagnosis of certain medical conditions from a patient""s home. Many of the electronic medical devices that were once only available at a doctor""s office or hospital are now commonly available for purchase and use at home. These devices not only include simple electronic medical devices, such as electronic blood pressure devices electronic thermometers, and electronic stethoscopes, but such devices also include more advanced electronic medical devices, such as EKGs and EEGs.
Further, many electronic optical devices are also now affordable and available for easy use and connectivity for medical purposes. These electronic optical devices can also provide the level of detail necessary for a physician or medical technician to analyze and diagnose medical conditions from images produced by the devices. These devices include digital cameras and digital camcorders.
In addition, with the advent and development of digital network technology, the integration of medicine with digital networks provides new opportunities for medical analysis and diagnosis. Indeed, by the use of a network, such as the Internet, the capability now exists for a patient to seek an instant, on-line consultation with a physician. For example, some of the present systems allow a patient to transmit medical information from the patient""s home over the Internet, have the medical information received for analysis at another location, and obtain a diagnosis of a medical condition from an analysis of the medical information by a physician or medical technician.
However, these conventional systems and methods primarily include receiving a textual medical description from a patient over a network and then providing for an analysis and diagnosis based on that textual medical description. Therefore, these conventional systems and methods do not provide for the processing of the signals obtained from an electronic medical device and the integration of these signals with the same system or method utilizing a network for communications.
Further, while some of the conventional systems and methods do include the transmission of certain medical data over a network, in most cases, the medical data does not represent the source signal of an electronic medical device. Instead, the data only represents the textual results of a medical test, even though the medical test may have been performed by an electric medical device.
Finally, even if the conventional systems and methods provide for the transmission and receipt of signals from electronic medical devices, none of the conventional systems and methods provide for the integration of an electronic medical device with an interface at a patient""s home via a serial bus. In particular, developments in serial bus technology has only recently made the processing of signals from an electronic medical device feasible for use over a digital network. Also, there is an absence of systems and methods for integrating this technology for medical purposes.
The conventional systems and methods are therefore disadvantageous and inefficient, because they do not provide for the processing of medical information from an electronic medical device via a serial bus at a remote patient site for transmission and receipt over a network to another location for analysis and diagnosis. Due to the absence of a system or method of processing, transmitting, and receiving medical information from an electronic medical device via a serial bus at a remote patient site over a network, there is a general need for such a system and method. There is also a need for a system and method that processes, transmits, and receives medical information via a serial bus at a remote patient site over a network to a remote diagnostic site or a medical processing center, where the information will be subject to analysis and diagnosis.
Methods and apparatus consistent with the present invention overcome the shortcomings of the conventional systems by processing medical information from an electronic medical device via a serial bus at a remote patient site for transmission and receipt over a network to a remote diagnostic site or a medical processing center.
In accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, one aspect of the invention includes a method of processing medical information obtained from an electronic medical device. This method comprises the stages of receiving medical information from the electronic medical device via a serial bus at a remote patient site, processing the medical information for transmission over a network, transmitting the medical information over the network, receiving the medical information at a remote diagnostic site over the network, processing the medical information for analysis and diagnosis at the remote diagnostic site, and making the medical information available at the remote diagnostic site for analysis and diagnosis.
In another aspect, the invention includes a method for processing medical information obtained from an electronic medical device, comprising the stages of inputting a digital signal representing medical information from the electronic medical device connected to a patient via a serial bus at a remote patient site, constructing a data packet containing the digital signal at the remote patient site for transmission over a network, transmitting the data packet at the remote patient site over the network. receiving the data packet at a medical processing center over the network, deconstructing the data packet at the medical processing center to obtain the digital signal, and transmitting the digital signal from the medical processing center to a diagnosis location for analysis and diagnosis by a physician or a medical technician.
In yet another aspect, the invention includes a method for preparing medical information obtained from an electronic medical device for transmission over a network, comprising the stages of inputting a signal representing medical information from the electronic medical device connected to a patient via a serial bus at a remote patient site, processing the medical information for transmission over a network, and transmitting the medical information at the remote patient site over the network.
In still another aspect, the invention includes a method for processing medical information obtained from an electronic medical device when received over a network, comprising the stages of receiving a data packet containing medical information over a network at a remote location, processing the data packet, and obtaining from the medical information a signal, which originated from an electronic medical device connected to a patient via a serial bus at a remote patient site.
Additional aspects of the invention are disclosed and defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.